We can all agree that the X-Men continuity is
a mess, with countless inconsistencies done throughout the years after Singer’s
departure from the franchise. X-Men: Days of Future Past is seemingly the fix
the franchise needs as Bryan Singer has come back to helm the once beloved
franchise to give it a fresh new start.

Plot Summary:

The plot is based on the classic X-Men story
arc of the same name by Chris Clernmont and John Byrne as It jumps to the year
2023, a future where both human and mutant kind are nearly wiped out by living
weapons known as the Sentinels. The few remaining X-Men of that future decide to
put Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time to the year 1973 to convince a young Charles
Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) to join forces and
prevent the key elements that paved way to the mutant genocide from happening.

PLOT ANALYSIS: A

To the film’s credit, Director, Bryan Singer
and Writer, Simon Kinberg brilliantly balanced an action-packed sci-fi drama as
they both deliver a spectacular entry to the franchise. The time travel arc is
not necessarily a problem. It is actually quite plausible, having a natural
flow to the film and not entirely convoluted. Other than that, this movie is
not exactly all dark and brooding either, the film does have its fair share of
comedic moments where they play the comedy subtly, just don’t expect it to be
like the Marvel Cinematic Universe where
the jokes make the whole movie.

This film is not necessarily a Wolverine
heavy film as most people claim it to be before the movie comes out. Hugh
Jackman plays a more reserved Logan this time around, no longer the
bub-snikt-stab Wolverine we’ve come to know and most of the time he takes the
back seat. The film is ultimately about Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique,
being the emotional core of the overall film.

Xavier’s quest to becoming the man we have
seen him become is quite moving, while Lawrence being the key element to the
grim future is actually a good nod to the original source material with a lot
of compelling material this time around, as for Fassbender he is a commanding
presence as always being the big villain with more layers that you’ve come to
expect. If there is really one problem I had with the plot is that Trask’s
motivations on why he started becoming this “mutant fascist” still needs a few
tweeks to it to make the film work a lot better.

PRESENTATION: A

Though this film may be “plot heavy”, the
film still had its fair share of engaging action sequences and visual eye
candy. The action scenes were actually integral to the plot; they’re not there for
the sake of having visual flare. Right from the first scene you are immediately
invested in the movie as it starts with an awesome fight scene in a Skynet-like
future. There were also many other brilliantly thought out action sequences
throughout the film, one of which that truly stands out was the pentagon scene that is easily going
to the history books as one of the best action sequence in a comic book film
much like Nightcrawler’s White House
siege in X2 and The Battle of New
York in 2012’s Avengers.

There’s nothing much to say about the score
other than the fact that it is great to hear John Ottman’s theme again, I
cracked a smile when I heard that in the opening credits. You truly feel
Singer’s return to the franchise right from the start.

THE PERFORMANCES: A

Bear in mind, this movie has humongous a cast of people where both Singer and
Vaughn’s cast come together in one film; the way they balanced all the characters
was actually surprising. Like I said McAvoy, Lawrence, and Fassbender are this
film’s big 3, the three of them have a commanding presence along with Stewart’s
Professor X and McKellen’s Magneto in most scenes. There were still a few
characters where they barely say one line, but the scenes still makes up for
the little development that they have, it is after all expected since this film
has a humongous cast.

Notable newcomers like Fan Bingbing’s Blink
and Evan Peters’ Quicksilver share the best action scenes in the movie, but it
was really Evan Peters who stole the show as Quicksilver despite the little
scenes he was in. If you thought Hugh Jackman played a different Wolverine in his
self-titled film, this Wolverine is even more different. Like I said, Jackman
plays a more reserved Logan; you can tell by his performance that his character
has been through a lot without giving it away, that kind of subtlety is what I
admired about Jackman’s performance in this film. Lastly is, Peter Dinklage though
he is a brilliant in this film, he is very under-used in this film with very
little material he is given. I just wish his motives were developed more for
his character to work.

CONCLUSION:

In the end, I think X-Men Days of Future Past
is an on-screen achievement. There’s many things I find admirable in this new
X-Men movie, one of which is that it made a lot of bold choices when it came to
correcting the film’s continuity. This is definitely going up there as one of
the best superhero movies ever made as it had a good balance of thrill and emotion
from start to finish. The performances are brilliant and I thought it was nice
to see Singer in the director’s chair again after his 8-year absence from the
franchise. This film is an near-perfect experience and definitely sets-up a
promising future ahead of them.